Most households are trying to save money with chores the homeowners can DIY themselves. We applaud those efforts and do the same in our own households as well. In some cases, DIY can actually cost you more money than hiring a professional in that field to take care of the issue. This can be the case when it comes to cleaning the carpets in your home.

Carpeting in your home is a big investment and used daily so you want to ensure you take care of this investment to last as long as it can. Having your carpets professionally cleaned regularly extends the life of the carpeting and contributes to better air quality, reducing allergies and illness.

3 ways to damage your carpets by self-cleaning

There are three ways that a homeowner can actually damage their carpets when self-cleaning and it is usually by accident.

Home Advisor states that “while the do-it-yourself approaches are far less expensive, they are almost never as effective as professional cleaning and involve a considerable amount of time and hard work. Depending on the method used, it is also easy for the novice to damage the carpet.

Beware of the three most common ways do-it-yourselfers (and inexperienced pros) damage carpets:

  1. Over-shampooing occurs when either too much shampoo is used or the carpet is not adequately rinsed. Both are practically inevitable with some wet do-it-yourself approaches. This is the biggest reason why even hard-core do-it-yourselfers should occasionally use a professional. If they don’t, the build-up of soapy residue can be impossible to clean out, leaving a carpet that is a virtual dirt magnet.
  2. Over-wetting occurs when too much water soaks into the bottom of the carpet. Some backing materials cause the carpet to discolor if they get too wet. Some carpets will shrink, literally tearing themselves up from the floor. If the backing and pad get wet, it is very difficult to dry them, and you run the additional risk of mold and mildew problems.
  3. The final carpet-cleaning hazard is stains caused by furniture coming into contact with wet carpeting. Many kinds of wood furniture will release some of the dyes in their stain if left in contact with a wet surface. Many pieces of furniture have feet that are at least partially metal. The metal can rust, leaving a stain in the carpet.

Do-it-yourselfers are more likely to encounter these problems because they often don’t remove all the furniture from the room when cleaning, and they often don’t have ready access to the foam blocks and foil-backed cardboard squares that the pros use to keep the furniture off the carpet until it is dry”.

Opting to self-clean carpets does no good if they ultimately end up in worse shape in the process. Remember to follow all instructions on cleaning machines and products.

Auburn Carpet takes great pride in our rug cleaning experience and results.  Many area rugs, including “oriental” can be manufactured by hand and using very delicate materials, while some are machine made with synthetic materials. We will inspect your rugs and give you our recommendation of cleaning based on fiber content and construction.

If you are unsure, please give us a call and we are happy to come to your home to inspect and test if necessary. Some synthetic rugs can be cleaned on site, but we prefer to clean delicate items off site in a controlled environment to ensure proper care, cleaning and drying. In our typical “home” service area, we will pick up and deliver your rugs at no additional charge!

Auburn Carpet Specialists are the area’s premier carpet cleaning service company, family owned and operated, that has earned a solid reputation for premium quality service and customer satisfaction. With more than 20 years of experience, we can truly call ourselves ‘Auburn Carpet Specialists’. We are located in Auburn, Georgia. Contact us today for a FREE Inspection and Estimate or call at 770-867-7541.